Comparative Analysis Of Hobbes Locke And Rousseau Philosophy Essay

Comparative Analysis Of Hobbes Locke And Rousseau Philosophy Essay Hobbess, Lockes and Rousseaus imagination of the Social Contract. Social Contract Theory, is one of the oldest philosophical theories on the origin of state .The original inspiration for this notion is said to have derived from the bible, covenant between God and Abraham and later by the Socrates in Greece  [1]  , but it is mostly brought up by the writings of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The social contract is moral and/or political obligation dependent upon a contract or agreement between the people to form society. The social contract theory has three main stages of progression, namely- state of nature, contract or covenant and civil society. These three stages provide the basic differences between the theories of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. THOMAS HOBBES THEORY OF THE SOCIAL CONTRACT Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) was an English philosopher and political thinker. The English civil war became the back drop for all his writings. In the context of a number of overlapping conflicts Hobbes wrote various versions of his political theory, begning with The elements of Law (1630s),De Cive(1642),and Leviathan (1651).  [2]   According to Hobbes, the state of nature represented the interactions of human beings with each other in the absence of any kind of relations of political authority. In other words the state of nature represented a state of war. Hobbes believed that the human beings in the state of nature were concerned only with their desires  [3]  . The human nature here was selfish. No person was superior over the other. Hobbes further said that the desire to acquire power never ended and thus it aggravated the state of war where everyone was trying to ensure that no one will stop them from fulfilling their desires of glory. Thus creating a situation favorable for long-term projects, like farming, industry, etc. became impossible. It was a situation of continuous fear and violence.Such a state called for some laws to be enforced. Hence, the need arose to have an authority that would enforce the laws of nature and help man to fulfill his desires in a more efficient way. This led to the signing of the Social Contract between men leading to the formation of a state as well as a sovereign. In such a state or commonwealth, as stated by Hobbes, men authorized a particular individual or a group of individuals to perform all actions. Moreover men also gave up certain rights on a condition that such rights were also given up by the entire multitude. Hobbes sovereign had absolute authority. His judgments and actions could not be questioned as this sovereign was not a part of the social contract. Opposing this sovereign meant opposing oneself as this sovereign represented the people itself. The only right that men had against this sovereign was the right to life or self-preservation. JOHN LOCKES THEORY OF THE SOCIAL CONTRACT Initially, although John Locke (1632-1704) believed in the absolute power of the monarchy and religious uniformity, his stance changed drastically later. His changed stance is best put forward in the work Two Treatises of Government. Unlike, Hobbes for whom the state of nature is a state of war, Lockes state of the nature is the state of peace, Good Will, Mutual Assistance, and Preservation.  [4]  His theory brings out that man is a wise, sociable being who can judge the ill effects of going to war . It can be noted that Lockes has positive view of the state of nature and of human beings. Locke brings in the concept of private property which in all probability leads to inequalities of wealth. In order to ensure the security of the natural laws, and the inequality of wealth, man to enter into a community governed by a set of laws and the government. Locke disbelieves in censorship by the state, and says that state must exist and function separately from the people. The main goal of state is to ensure personal safety and protection of personal property rights. If it fails so he empowered people to revolt against the state, and, to go for a revolution if it abuses its authority. Hence Lockes view of government, which is not absolute, and is against that of Hobbes. The governments powers are limited to an extent where it starts encroaching on public good. JEAN JACQUES ROUSSEAUS THEORY OF THE SOCIAL CONTRACT Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) remains one of the first thinkers to offer us a strong critique of modern social and political institutions in the name of the modern values of equality, liberty and democracy.  [5]   Rousseaus theory on the state of nature shows in progressive stages how men, from behaving like animals, transform themselves into a society. This society, according to Rousseau, is not civil at all as it gives rise to more corruption and negative feelings in Mans mind. Thus Rousseaus view point differs from Hobbes or Locke who believe in the transformation of men from the state of nature to a more civil society. Rousseau in his theory favours men in the state of nature in which they only have natural differences rather than having political, social or economic differences. But however we have no moral liberty in the state of nature, because we have not yet developed a moral sense. This moral sense can only be born in society, and we need to establish a society in which, not only do we preserve the liberty of the state of nature, but also provide the conditions for us to achieve moral freedom.  [6]  So in order to solve this problem men enter into a social contract. The new polit ical entity which is formed as a result of this contract reflects and works for the general will. This general will leads to the protection of individual liberty which as a corollary leads to the removal of economic, social and political inequality. Thus; Rousseau says; that it is only because of this general will that the sovereign is indivisible, inalienable and infallible.  [7]  Because of this people are ready to lay down even their right to self-preservation. This concept, as clearly seen, is a stark contrast to Hobbes and Lockes theory. In this way one sees that all three Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau differ in their theories of the Social Contract. All three of them start off by describing the state of nature and mans progression into civil society. Each philosopher agrees that before men came to govern themselves, they all existed in a state of nature. But, however, the reasons which force man into such a society differ from one author to the other. This, in turn, leads them to have a contrasting view point on the powers and duties of the sovereign as well the state. Despite the differences in their viewpoints, their theories have one common thread running through them which reflects that The Social Contract is the best way to maintain peace and order. Though this end propagated by them is the same, the means and prerequisite conditions differ. Despite their differences these three are regarded as the most influential political theorists in the world created a revolutionary idea of the state of nature

Five Years Strategic Plan Essay

Executive summary You are employed by a Swiss subsidiary of a transnational company in the processed food business whose products are sold via retailers and direct to the food service industry in a number of countries. Recently in Swiss subsidiary has been allocated responsibility for the Asia-Pacific Region and you have been assigned the task of spearheading the firm’s push into china and adjacent countries. In the light of opportunities and constraints to be awaited on the chinese market, the evaluation of alternative entry options showed that our best opportunity was on health food products related to the dairy products actual massive trend. We also decided to adress chinese cultural sensitivity issues by entering in long term close relationship with customers instead of being too focused on quick deals and to adapt our networking strategy to chosen entry strategy. We also examined how we should select a strategic partner, should the Chinese government advise us to do so, and how we should be adapting our global marketing processes to the issues raised by national sovereignty in China. Finally, we decided to include as adjacent market either Thailand or Vietnam in order to benefit from the existing trade relationship between them and China, even if countertrade obligations are to be met. INTRODUCTION The overall purpose of this paper is to present our five years strategic plan which objective is to enable our firm to become a major player in the processed food market adressed to retailers and food service industry. Among our very wide range of products, we will examine alternative market entry options in the light of potential opportunity and constraints, then examine the question of the influence of cultural sensitivity on negociations and on introduction of our product to chineses market. The next step of our analysis will be to examine the impact of adhesion of China to WTO on market environment and the consequences of cultural sensitivity to network and relationships. Our next field of investigation will be to examine the threat represented by a potential obligation to enter a strategic alliance with a local player and by our global company culture regarding national sovereignty issues. And we will finally include perspective of developping an adjacent market with eventually compulsory countertrade involved. Section 1 Alternative chinese market entry option for breakfast cereals and cereal bars in the light of potential opportunities and constraints. The recent huge success of dairy products in China, although a majority of the population is lactose intolerant and milk was never part of the traditional chinese food is showing that chinese market has become increasingly open to adopting foreign fooding habits. This is even reinforced by the success encoutered by Mc Donald’s and Starbucks. But one very interesting element of dairy products success is that its main reason and marketing idea is to value its good impact on health. This is what makes us think that the best way to introduce our firm’s product range is to be highly positionned on health benefits to be awaited from consuming our products, their total safety through high level controls. In terms of politics, China is a stable country, which has invested huge efforts into modernisation of its institutions and legal framework in order to enter the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2001. Contract enforcement and business matters involving foreigners are to be brought before high courts specifically trained. Intellectual property protection is still a broad problem through counterfaiting and brands like Starbucks are now facing parasite competitors who sell similar products to much lower prices. Chinese market is a huge opportunity but the country still lacks infrastructure and geographic entry has to be limited to main big cities, with a view of extending to the ever increasing number of middle sized cities growing all around the country. The idea of staying in urban areas is linked to two factors: our products are distributed through retailers networks, and food service industry which can only be found in big cities in China at the moment. As we work with retailers and food service industry, indirect market entry strategy through intermediary could prove worthy, at least at the beginning, as long as our products are not known. We could benefit from the intermediary’s network and his expertise on selling foreign products to chinese market. However, using and intermediary is not the prefered solution as it would increase our costs, and as chinese market is very price sensitive due to copycats, keeping good price/value ratio is a key strategic point. With direct market entry methods, we would have more control on market reactions and be able to lower our export costs. Alternative solutions to enter market range from specialised trade fairs (on dairy products, health products, breakfast and snacking products, etc†¦) to a campain of trial gifts to be organised with either yoghurt or milk distributors, or by giving free samples in school, university and working areas cafeterias. We could also reach agreements with already installed foreign companies who would be interested in distributing our products on their shelves. Considering our objective of becoming a major player on processed food within the next 5 years, it would probably be worth it to make a large upfront investment to develop internal expertise in chinese market, in order to maintain our own relationships in the target market, which could be later used in order to introduce other product range on the same market. Therefore, and in the context of a long term investment, prefered market entry would be on health safe products targeting families and young working singles. SWOT Analysis Opportunities: Economic climate : a double digit economic development favourable to high quality trendy foreign food processed products with an attraction to health promising food. Demographic changes turning a rural population into city office working people whose life standards have increased dramatically over the last few years. Market opening through China’s entering WTO system and making legal and administrative environment more import friendly Threats: Competitive activity: other global firms are already on the market and Mc Donald’s, Vuitton and Starbucks experience of the market show that any brand valuation generates its army of copycat making it difficult to keep up with very low prices in a very price sensitive market. Culture: Reluctance to adopt new foreign fooding habits in a very traditional culture Pricing: chinese market is very sensitive to pricing and client segment will have to be chosen carefully and matched to pricing range. Strength: Health food image connected to dairy products Processed food in a booming ever increasing market Product adaptability: Cereals can be flavoured according to Chinese market tastes Networking: Company’s excellent ethic reputation Large target: Product attractive to kids and adult alike Weaknesses Not enough differentiation in products Need high advertising budget to gain trendy attracting image Section 2 How culture might impact on (i) negotiating in china and (ii) introducing your firm’s product into china. The usual tip when you prepare a business trip to China is to carry business cards, bring an interpreter, wear a conservative suit. These advice are easy to follow and have proven usefull, but they are too superficial to get you into the kind of association with chinese you need to be able to negociate agreements and introducing on a long term perspective the firm’s products in China. Graham and Lam (2003) have described the roots of chinese culture which have bound chinese people for 5,000 years and show through chinese business negociation: agrarism which superseedes business(survival depends on group cooperation and harmony, loyalty and obdience to familly hierarchy), confucianist morality (relations of ruler and ruled between husband and wife, parents and children, older and younger, and of equal between friends), being more concerned by means than by end in negociations, the fact that chinese tend to see easily the big picture, and finally that chinese people are very cynical about rule of law and rules in general, only trusting their families and their bank account. The elements that are important in chinese negociation are: have personal connections (friends, relatives and close associates), use an intermediary in order to avoid suspicion and distrust, be formal in order to show social status, pay attention to interpersonal harmony (smile, be nice and friendly), see the big picture and leave the detail to a later stage, be patient in order to get concessions on prices, never embarrass or provoque a lost of composure to a chinese (equivalent to loosing face), value endurant work more than talent. As a result of the above, introducing our products into China will probably require either a very long time necessary to build a trusted network, or the use of an intermediary. It is of first importance to try to establish close contact with significant actors of the retail and food service industry. The pricing of the products will probably also be of concern, as, if too low, it might not have the value effect, but, too high, it might repell consumers more tempted by a local copycat.    Impact of recent access of China to the WTO on other environmental variables which can be encountered when doing business in China and how it might benefit to our ability to establish worthwhile business in China. When China joined WTO in 2001, it made a transition from a centrally planned economy to a market driven economy. The institutional framework for foreign trade was inexistent, the information transparency culture still to be invented, existing judicial and administrative system inadapted. A tremendous amount of work was requested before China could integrate WTO system. China agreed with its major trading partners to open chinese market within 3 to 4 years to foreign companies in various sectors, including telecommunications, distribution and wholesaling, financial services, and banking and insurance. The change in laws included codifying existing administrative practices into written laws and regulations, therefore increasing transparency and predictability, covering around 200. Foreign trade law had to be modifyed. Regulations on international trade of goods and rules of origins were created. Regulations on transnational mergers and acquisitions and franchising were developped according to their new objectives. Anti-dumping, subsidy, countervailing and safeguard measures were prepared, and altogether, the capacity of the Government to provide legal information to the public was strengthened. Under the China’s central planning system, foreign trade was administered with both tariff and nontariff controls, including quantitative controls which WTO rules require to eliminate. To ensure that the WTO’s nondiscrimination principle is met in the judicial process, China issued an order that took effect on 1 March 2002 to elevate the jurisdiction over commercial cases involving foreigners from the primary courts to the higher level of courts, the question of training the judges to the appropriate regulation still being an issue at the moment. (Mitchell:2004). Altogether, when entering WTO system China had the tools to a market economy. These modifications created a foreign investment friendly framework, but the cultural reluctance to rules and the natural reliance to human bonds are still to be watched when doing business in China (Usunier & Lee:2005). It had a great impact on having major competitors entering the chinese market with success and provides market with the stability and rules needed to establish worthwhile invesment. Section 3 Significance of the focus in China on relationship and network on our chosen entry strategy. As, in China, all business is subject to relationship and network, and as we have chosen to invest into a direct market entry strategy, we will have to rely on building our network with key players. Relationship marketing involves creating, maintaining and enhancing strong relationships with customers and other stakeholders. This type of marketing is moving away from focusing on individual transactions and moving towards to focusing on on building value-laden relationships and marketing networks. This type of marketing is long term oriented, very demanding as it is aimed at delivering long term value and satisfaction to customer (Kotler &al:2005) It also involves building relationships at different levels: economics, social, technical and legal resulting in high consumer loyalty. Kotler (2005:476), distinguishes five different relationships that can be formed with customers: basic (sale is made but no follow up on satisfaction) Reactive (salesman encourages customer to come back if any question arises) Accountable (salesperson contacts customer shortly after the sale to check that product meets expectations) Proactive (salesperson or company person phones customer from time to time to suggest other products) Partnership (company works with its customers to discover ways to deliver better value) Considering that we intend to sell our product to a large number of customers with medium profit margin, the adapted relationship level would be â€Å"accountable†. Therefore, salesperson would phone retailer or food service company shortly after the sale to check if product meets expectations. Of course, identifying key customers and being more proactive with them would also enhance efficiency of such relationship marketing. Company would probably take advantage to using other marketing tools as giving special treatment and reward to good customers, or inviting them to special events. Chosen strategy network map and discussion on focal and subsidiary relationship involved. First step is to identify key player in retail networking and food service industry, like main wholesalers to be met at trade fair, mass retailers like supermarkets, trendsetters to be identified on TV or sports like football. Next step is to initiate contact with them with a focus on long term relationship and not on result. These relationship, due to their weight on market and the advantage that can be gained from being referenced with them have to be favoured at a first stage. Then, once this network is established, and in order to continue expansion, identify other distribution channels than wholesalers or mass retailers and initiate subsidiary relationship with them, as smaller restaurants, or hotels. Section 4 Adressing the issues related to rumour that Chinese government might request that we enter into a strategic alliance with a Chinese owned firm: selecting and managing strategic alliance partners in china. As in many asian country there is a rumour that we may have to enter a strategic alliance with a chinese partner in order to be allowed to market processed food in China. As Charles Revson, founder of Revlon cosmetics said once â€Å" I don’t meet competition, I crush it† and this should be remembered when entering a strategic partnership with a chinese partner. In fact, as cultural analysis hereabove showed, chinese only trust their family and their bank account, so, in order to enter a sound alliance, a few criterias must be met. Criterias for selecting strategic partner in China should be: good reputation of loyalty and integrity on the market, but also of product quality for reputation purposes natural feeling and common values, understanding of what our goals are and willingness to collaborate extensive network on our targeted customers, on the areas where we have the greatest growth or the most profitable areas proven synergy opportunity between our two companies instead of competition long term relationship seems possible through mutual cooperation (strategic alliance must be a win-win situation in order to be sustainable on the long term) Impact of the issues of national sovereignty in China on application of our standard marketing approaches in order to enhance global image and additional profits through economy of scale. China is very sensitive on the issue raised by separatist claims by   Taiwanese nationalists, Tibet and Xinjiang separatists. Our standard marketing approaches, designed to enhance global image and enable additional profits through economy of scale, mustn’t be a threat to our main objective which is to become a major player in dairy products in China. Therefore, our standard marketing approaches should be amended in order to avoid any differenciation between the average product sold within China and the ones sold in these three areas. The main market should be priviledged against the particularism of the three separatists areas. No marketing argument that our product would be specifically adressed to the separatists areas should be set forth and it should under no circumstances become a selling argument or even be mentioned, because it would probably cause us to loose main market. Section 5 Criteria to select an adjacent market between Taiwan, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam The first criteria to take into account is capacity to use both markets to enhance presence on each other. Creating synergies in a market entry phase might be vital and the level of trade relationship already existing between China and that country is the right measurment. The second one is to choose a market which might be governed by the same cultural trends in order to be able to adopt the same marketing approach to both. A third criteria, maybe more operational, is distance and accessibility (custom tariffs, roads, etc†¦) between both territories. This might enable to base product in one country and ship to the other from thereof. Fourth criteria might be existing trade relations with Switzerland which might make it easier for us to start networking, as the swiss image would already be a commercial advantage. Myanmar being subject to economic sanction from China due to compulsory labor is not a valid adjacent market, though it has entered the asian liberalisation trend and was even acknowledged by the UN Conference on Trade and Development in 2001 as a member that performed ‘well to better’ in the trade liberalisation process under the WTO’s principles It also does not have the right development stage to be interesting and human rights issues might be damaging our image. It has very little commercial bonds with Switzerland. Thailand had rather recent diplomatic relations with China (dating 1975) but shows since then a real will to become a partner of choice of China. Both nations have common roots and share common ancestors. The commercial agreement between the two countries (Sino Thai Free Trade Agreement) only covers fruits and vegetables at the moment but could possibly be extended. Thailand is also member of the WTO. Its main advantage is to already have strong network trade connections with Switzerland (on machinery, watches, etc†¦), where we are based, which could be a decisive advantage for us in terms of network. Taiwan is actually administrated by China which makes it a priviledged area to invest in. It also has a long tradition of trade with China which makes it a good candidate due to the need for trade network to enhance each others, and as a little dragon, it also has the wealth to be interesting, but choosing it would probably not be the best in terms of advantage on chinese market as it does not really add anything different to being only present in China. Also it does not have any specific links with Swiss market. Vietnam has a common frontier with China and is following more or less the same path towards becoming a market economy and entered WTO in january 2007. Though it does not have the same laws, it has a similar development trend, close traditions and the close commercial links with China in all sectors that makes it a suitable adjacent market. It is also a so called little dragon, a booming economy that could be a very profitable market. The trading network between Vietnam and Switzerland is not too developped though Switzerland is present in Vietnam with a swiss embassy in Hanoi. Finally, in order to develop a global brand image in asia, it might be a good choice to choose between Thailand and Vietnam. How to turn the risk of being obliged to countertrade into a profitable trade More than 80 countries nowadays use or require countertrade exchanges. A concensus of experts opinions (Okaroafo, 1989) has put the percentage of the value of world trade volumes related to countertrade at between 20 to 25%. Counter trade usually occurs when countries lack sufficient hard currency. There are five main variants of countertrade which could be of different value to our firm. Entering a barter (exchange of goods or services directly for other goods or services without the use of money as means of purchase or payment) could eventually be interesting if we manage to find good quality bulk products that could be integrated in our products, like fruits or packaging. Using the switch trading practice (in which the country would exchange allowing our importations against an obligation to make a purchase on the domestic market) could also be of interest to us for the same reasons. A buyback (buying machinery necessary to our production in exchange for products) agreement is not a really interesting deal for us as it involves very heavy transportation. Finally, entering an offset agreement (offsetting a hard-currency purchase of an unspecified product) would be a very dangerous operation as we would have to cover currency exchange variations. Proactive strategy to trade profitably with the selected country In order to be ready when the ban on import occurs, we will implement a proactive strategy by identifying products that could be of use in our production process. Then we will start making contacts with producers of these products and gain market knowledge of prices and quality available, identify suitable suppliers that meet our quality requirements and are able to supply us with the adequate quantities. Therefore, when we will be forced to countertrade, we will already have our network in place. Conclusion: As stated in this document, our five year strategic plan on entering Chinese market involves: entering market with health food linked to dairy products mass trendiness with direct marketing tools Always keep in mind the cultural sensitivity of China in order to use it as a competitive advantage instead of a falling trap. Utilise the huge work done by China to be able to keep up with WTO entering necessary standards in terms of transparency and legal framework to our profit in developping our business Invest in developping extended network and long term relationship marketing in order to open the route to introducing our other products on the market later If needed, choose carefully strategic partners Amend global marketing policy in order to avoid sovereignty issues Choose between Thailand and Vietnam as adjacent market, even if countertrade is involved. Reference Table SunfaithChina Ltd,September 2006,†Market Analysis report on China Yoghourt industry†, http://www.mindbranch.com/listing/product/R521-158.html Chen, C, February 2003, â€Å"Got Milk?†, Wall Street Journal http://www.mindfully.org/Food/2003/China-Dairy-Drinks28feb03.htm John L. Graham and N. Mark Lam, 13 october 2003, â€Å"Negotiating in China†, Havard Business School, Excerpted with permission from â€Å"The Chinese Negotiation,† Harvard Business Review, Vol. 81, No. 10, October 2003 Mitchell, A â€Å"Implementing WTO rules: The Importance of Law Reform, Remarks of Arthur M. Mitchell, General Counsel Asian Development Bank, February 2004, apeC Workshop on Best Practices in WTO Capacity Building, http://www.adb.org/Documents/Speeches/2004/sp2004050.asp Vertariu, P., (1992), â€Å"Trends and Developments in International Countertrade,† Business America, (November 2), 2-6. Okaroafo, S., (1989) â€Å"Determinants of LDC Mandated Countertrade,† International Management Review, (Winter), 1624 â€Å"Interview: Thailand aims to further enhance Thailand-China strategic partnership† People’s Daily, Beijing, 28 June 2005, http://www.bilaterals.org/article.php3?id_article=2180 Swiss Federal State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, 2005, â€Å"Report on Swiss Economic Development Cooperation with Vietnam† Kotler,P, and al: (2005), â€Å"Principles of Marketing†, Pearson Education Ltd Usunier, J-C and Lee, J (2005) â€Å"Marketing across cultures†, Pearson Education Ltd Buksbaum, L (1999), â€Å"Choosing strategic partner that really partner†, press release on Inc.com, (http://www.inc.com/articles/1999/11/19511.html)

Cold Drinks Essay

Soft drinks are non-alcoholic water-based flavoured drinks that are optionally sweetened, acidulated and carbonated. Some carbonated soft drinks also contain caffeine; mainly the brown-coloured cola drinks. PROBLEM STATEMENT To find out consumers buying behaviour and to identify gaps in the industry if any. RESEARCH OBJECTIVE To find out the factors affecting soft drinks buying pattern. To find out the consumers buying habits. Seasonal changes in the buying habits. To find out the consumer’s future requirements and conceptualize an innovative product. To study the overall Beverages industry. SOFT DRINKS MARKET – AN OVERVIEW. Global Scenario The global soft drink industry is highly concentrated, being largely controlled by the two multinational companies; Coca Cola and PepsiCo. Coca Cola leads the carbonated soft drink market in most countries in the world with 60% of the global cola market with its flagship Coca-Cola brand. Other notable players include Cadbury Schweppes. Indian Scenario In the booming soft drinks industry, multinationals seem to be the biggest winners in terms of market share. The Coca-Cola Company led the highly consolidated market with a 42. 8% volume share, followed by PepsiCo at 28. 6% in 2004. Danone is a minor player in India with a 0. 5% share, chiefly due to its late market entry and limited offerings. According to government estimates soft drinks marketed in India were 6540 million bottles in March 2001. The market growth rate, which was around 2-3% in ‘80s, increased to 5-6% in the early ‘90s and is presently 7-8% per annum. Most of the sales of soft drinks take place during summers while just 5-6% of total sales take place in winters. In summers the high season lasts for 70-75 days, which contributes more than 50% of the total yearly sales. In terms of regional distribution cola drinks have main markets in metro cities and northern states of UP, Punjab, Haryana etc. Orange flavoured drinks and sodas are popular in southern states. Western markets have preference towards mango-flavoured drinks. Non-alcoholic beverage market can be divided into fruit drinks and soft drinks. Soft drinks available in glass bottles, aluminium cans, PET bottles or disposable containers can be divided into carbonated and non-carbonated drinks. Cola, lemon and oranges are carbonated drinks and non-carbonated drinks include mango drinks. Soft drinks can also be divided into cola products and non-cola products. Cola products in Indian include brands like Pepsi Cola, Diet Pepsi, Coca- Cola, Diet Coke, Thumps Up etc. Cola drinks account for nearly 61-62% of the total soft drinks market in India. Non-Cola products account for 36% the total soft drink market. Until 1990s, domestic players like Parle Group (Thumps Up, Limca, Goldspot) dominated the softdrink market in India. However, with the advent of the MNC players like Pepsi (1991) and Coke (re-entered in 1993 after it was banned in 1977) in the early 1990s, the market control shifted towards them by the late 1990s. The per capita consumption of soft drinks in India is among the lowest in the world – 5 bottles per annum compared to the 800 bottles per annum in the USA. Delhi reports the highest per capita consumption in the country – 50 bottles per annum. The consumption of PET bottles is more in the urban areas (75% of total PET bottle [plastic bottles] consumption) whereas the sales of 200ml bottles were higher in the rural areas. According to a survey, 91% of the soft drink consumption in India is in the lower, lower middle and upper middle class section. After a somewhat subdued performance in 2006 due to a recurrence of the pesticides controversy, soft drinks sales bounced back strongly to record double-digit volume growth in 2007. With carbonates growth back on a positive upward curve alongside burgeoning sales of fruit/vegetable juice and bottles water, soft drinks showed impressive growth in 2007. Off-trade volumes grew slightly faster than on-trade volumes, driven by higher consumption of packaged and branded soft drinks at home and on the go. The emergence of supermarkets/hypermarkets, heavy consumer promotions and various new product launches played a key role in driving off-trade volume growth. Soft drinks sales in 2007 were propelled by bottled water and fruit/vegetable juice with their healthier positioning helping to drive sales of soft drinks. While carbonates posted single-digit growth in 2007, rebounding from the pesticides controversy of 2006, it was bottled water and fruit/vegetable juice that stormed ahead with high double-digit growth rates. Poor municipal infrastructure for tap water has pushed sales of bulk packaged water to households. Fruit/vegetable juice is growing as a result of increased consumer expenditure on naturally healthy (NH) beverages. While functional drinks and RTD tea also posted impressive growth in 2007, they were growing from a very small base and are yet to achieve a critical mass in terms of establishing a loyal consumer base. With consumers showing a growing preference for healthier soft drinks such as bottled water and fruit/vegetable juice rather than carbonates in 2007, the two carbonates giants suffered a marginal decline in share. Although both players embarked on a change in strategy to focus more on non-carbonated soft drinks in their portfolios, they were unable to maintain share and lost out slightly to home-grown players Parle Bisleri and Dabur India. Coca-Cola India launched Minute Maid and pushed the sales of its juices while PepsiCo India heavily promoted Tropicana, Aquafina and Gatorade during 2007. In addition, Coca-Cola India and PepsiCo India embarked on re-branding themselves as total beverage players and not just carbonates players. With the retail scene in India undergoing a rapid metamorphosis with the establishment of supermarkets/ hypermarkets and convenience stores, soft drinks sales have benefited positively. People in urban areas are increasingly flocking to supermarkets to pick up speciality items that are not available in the kirana stores that are found all over India. Modern retail outlets have provided soft drinks players with many opportunities to push their brands. Consumer promotions for fruit/vegetable juice and emerging sectors such as RTD tea and functional drinks are driving product sampling. Attractive point-of-sale (PoS) displays and gift packs of concentrates are also drawing consumer attention in supermarkets/hypermarkets. Heath drinks Soft drinks is expected to post a strong performance on the back of increasing affluence amongst consumers and evolving lifestyles which lead to consumers devoting less time to preparing fresh food and drink at home. Competition from the unorganised sector will diminish gradually as consumers show greater aversion to buying unpackaged and unbranded soft drinks from street vendors due to health and hygiene concerns. Rising health consciousness is also expected to drive sales of naturally healthy (NH) soft drinks such as 100% juice and mineral water. In addition, soft drinks such as sports drinks and juice-based carbonates are also expected to fare well over the forecast period as consumers perceive them to be healthy. Softdrinks can be segmented on the basis of carbonation, flavor type or place of consumption. Based on carbonation, soft drinks are principally classified into carbonated and non-carbonated drinks. While the carbonated drinks mainly include Cola, orange and lemon, the non-carbonated drinks include mango flavors. Cola products account for over 60% of the total soft drink market and include popular brands such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Thumps Up etc. Non-cola segment constitutes for over 35% of the market and can be divided into four sub groups based on types of available flavours that include – *Orange: Popular brands include Fanta, Mirinda Orange etc. *Clear lime: 7Up, Sprite *Cloudy lime: Limca, Mirinda Lemon. *Mango: Maaza, Slice Carbonates account for over 54% of total soft drinks sales in volume terms in India, with sales amounting to 2. 3 billion litres in 2004. CONSUMER’S PROFILE Soft drinks are impulse purchase products, and there is an element of indulgence associated with them. It does not figure very high on the shopping list. The consumer buys it just to while away time or as a substitute to water. Since, the older generation is of the opinion that nothing can substitute water, the companies generally target the youngsters, teenagers, children, employee of corporate offices. As these products are general fun drink, brand loyalties are not strong for a particular brand and consumers look for novelty and new flavors. Soft drinks consumption heavily relies on seasons. Though consumers are becoming health conscious, fans of classic carbonated soft drinks (CSDs) still are on the large. SAMPLING DESIGN TARGET POPULATION Consumers are surveyed to know their preference. The respondents are between the age group of 15 to 40. All the respondents are residents of Mumbai city. SELECTING A SAMPLING TECHNIQUE The sampling was done on a random basis whereby the respondents visited and primary data is collected. The Respondents were selected as per convenience sampling. RESEARCH DESIGN The research design was Exploratory in nature. Secondary Data and the Data from the Questionnaire were used to do the Analysis. This Exploratory research was done to give the insights about Consumers buying behaviour. The factors affecting their purchase of Soft- Drinks. DATA COLLECTION: The Primary data was collected through questionnaire administered to Consumers. The Secondary Data was collected through Internet, Business journals. The questionnaire was designed keeping the overall objectives and the information required. The questionnaire administered to the Consumers was aimed at finding out their preference & factors affecting their purchase decision for Soft drinks and also to identify how these existing products can be improved according to the consumers. DATA ANALYSIS: Data Analysis is being done arranging the data in tabular forms and using graphical representations. The survey conducted and the related findings. How many bottles (consider 350 ml) of cold drinks do you consume? CONSUMPTION IN BOTTLES (350 ml) 1 in a week1 in 4 days1 in 2 days>1 in a day 25 %42%27%6% Analysis. Consumers proffered having cold drinks once in a week or 4 days. Regular consumers were few. Consumption increased during the summers. Consumption is more amongst teenagers and youngsters. Young professionals also consumed cold drinks regularly mostly since it came complimentary with other food items such as pizzas or burgers. It is also used by working professionals as lunch-time substitute for water. Do you generally stick to brands ? YES89% NO11% Analysis: It is seen that, consumers are highly brand conscious. The big brands have been successful in creating loyalty towards their products in the long run. But, it is seen that, the consumers are not particular about one specific brand. As long as the brand is known to him/her, the product would be consumed. Also, the safety issues concerning beverages are high. Hence, unbranded beverages are not popular. Do you stick to a particular brand? YES27% NO73% Analysis: It is seen that consumers look for branded beverages, but not for a particular product as such. As long as the product is from a well- known brand, it will be consumed. It is also seen that, whenever a particular soft-drink isn’t available, any other substitute works. Hence, switching brands is relatively easy. Do you prefer ‘no fizz’ drinks (e. g. Slice, Maaza) or ‘strong fizz’ drinks e. g. (Thumbs up or Pepsi) ? Fizz LevelPercentage Strong Fizz16. 7% Light Fizz25% No Fizz58. 3% Analysis A very significant trend-shift towards no-carbonated drinks is seen. Previously, CSD (carbonated Soft drinks) have been very popular. Recently this trend has been changing. People now prefer ‘no fizz’ drinks. ‘Strong fizz’ i. e. cold drinks with high carbon concentration are running low on popularity. How Important are the following Factors ? Analysis. Most important factors as considered by consumers as per the survey results, are Brand, flavour and nutritional value. Shape of the bottle or packaging is the least important criteria. Flavour is also an important factor. Data table is given below : FactorsLeast ImportantSomewhat ImportantAverageImportantCriticalN/ARating Average Color22. 2% 44. 4% 11. 1% 0. 0% 11. 1% 11. 1% 2. 25 Flavour0. 0% 22. 2% 22. 2% 33. 3% 22. 2% 0. 0% 3. 56 Quantity0. 0% 16. 7% 50. 0% 33. 3% 0. 0% 0. 0% 3. 17 Nutrition value0. 0% 20. 0% 10. 0% 50. 0%20. 0% 0. 0% 3. 70 Shape of bottle42. 9%0. 0% 28. 6% 0. 0% 14. 3% 14. 3% 2. 33 Packaging50. 0% 16. 7% 0. 0% 0. 0% 0. 0% 33. 3% 1. 25 Brand11. 1% 0. 0% 11. 1% 22. 2% 44. 4% 11. 1% 4. 00 Exclusivity0. 0% 16. 7% 16. 7% 16. 7% 0. 0% 50. 0% 3. 00 Would you prefer nutritious drinks over others? YES72% NO22% Analysis : People are growing more health conscious due to the changing trends, growing awareness levels, better education and standard of living. This leads them towards more nutritional drinks. Consumers are now looking for cold-drinks that also satisfy other needs or provide added benefits along with being just a cold drink, Do you like energy drinks more? YES68% NO32% Analysis: Energy drinks are quite popular in the Indian markets with Red Bull being the prime player and a few other brands. The prices are still high considering the Indian markets. Would you like a glucose induced packaged drinking water ? YES79. 3% NO20. 7% Analysis: Packaged drinking water sales have grown manifolds in the last decade due to improper hygiene and improper municipal care. Consumers seem keen on having a product that can provide them added benefits with the packaged drinking water, such as, glucose induced water. Do you prefer the classic CSD (carbonated soft drinks) over anything else ? YES41% NO59% Analysis There are a significant percentage of consumers who have strong preferences towards carbonated soft drinks. Most of these respondents are male. Would you buy a drink that comes in 3 variations depending on its level of ‘fizz’? YES79. 3% MAYBE23. 1% NO20. 7% Analysis : In this question, a conceptual product with 3 levels of fizz was put up to the respondents. The audience responded quite favourably towards the idea. Since there is a divide amongst consumers who prefer strong fizz and the others who prefer no fizz drinks, such a product is given a thumbs up by the consumers. Would you like to have an additional product (e. g. chips) as a packaged product along with your cold drinks? YES53. 8% MAYBE30. 8% NO15. 4% Analysis: Generally, consumers have cold drinks along with wafers, chips or some kind of snack. In this question, the reaction of consumers is noted for how would they like it if the companies could come up with some offer where in the snacks come up bundled with the soft drink. These snacks can be suited best for the taste of the particular product along with which it could be supplied. CONCLUSION AND RECCOMMENDATIONS: The soft drinks market is an attractive industry with lot of scope for new entrants. Even if there are branded players since decades, trends are shifting now towards unconventional products. New innovations regarding flavour and nutritional value are most welcomed by the consumers. Lifestyles are changing and stress levels are high. This drives consumers to look for added benefits with the conventional ‘colas’. Hence, now consumers prefer cold drinks with natural fruit extracts, flavoured milk or energy drinks. A certain dislike towards carbonated drinks is seen especially amongst female consumers. As compared to other soft drinks these nutritional drinks are bit pricier. Ways should be thought of to reduce these rates and make them more affordable. Also, there are only mango flavoured, lemon flavoured or orange flavoured drinks available in the no-fizz category. More flavours can be tried. Brands should stress more on the nutritional value of the cold-drink and specify exactly how much of the daily nutrition will it provide them. A new product especially for females could be come up with. APPENDIX Cold drinks 1. Default Section 1. How many bottles (consider 350 ml) of cold drinks do you consume? How many bottles (consider 350 ml) of cold drinks do you consume? one in a week one in 4 days one in 2 days one in a day more than 1 bottle in a day Other (please specify) 2. Do you generally stick to one brand or easily switch brands? Do you generally stick to one brand or easily switch brands? Yes No Maybe 3. Do you prefer ‘no fizz’ drinks (e. g. Slice, Maaza) or ‘strong fizz’ drinks like Thumbs up or Pepsi? Do you prefer ‘no fizz’ drinks (e. g. Slice, Maaza) or ‘strong fizz’ drinks like Thumbs up or Pepsi?no fizz light fizz strong fizz Other (please specify) 4. Please select according to your preference (5 being the highest) Least ImportantSomewhat ImportantAverageImportantCriticalN/A Color Please select according to your preference (5 being the highest) Color Least Important Somewhat Important Average Important Critical N/A Flavour Flavour Least Important Somewhat Important Average Important Critical N/A Quantity Quantity Least Important Somewhat Important Average Important Critical N/A Nutrition value Nutrition value Least Important Somewhat Important Average Important Critical N/A. Shape of bottle Shape of bottle Least Important Somewhat Important Average Important Critical N/A Packaging Packaging Least Important Somewhat Important Average Important Critical N/A Brand Brand Least Important Somewhat Important Average Important Critical N/A Exclusivity Exclusivity Least Important Somewhat Important Average Important Critical N/A 5. Would you like your cold drink bottle to come in varied sizes so that it can be accomodated anywhere? Would you like your cold drink bottle to come in varied sizes so that it can be accomodated anywhere? Yes No Maybe. Other (please specify) 6. Would you buy a drink that comes in 3 variations depending on its level of ‘fizz’? Would you buy a drink that comes in 3 variations depending on its level of ‘fizz’? Yes No Maybe 7. Would you prefer your cold drink bottles to preserve the fizz for several days after opening the bottle? Would you prefer your cold drink bottles to preserve the fizz for several days after opening the bottle? Yes No Maybe 8. Would you like to have an additional product (e. g chips) as a packaged product along with your cold drinks? Would you like to have an additional product (e.g chips) as a packaged product along with your cold drinks? Yes No Maybe 9. Would you like to buy cold drinks, if you will get some promotional offer along with your cold drinks? Would you like to buy cold drinks, if you will get some promotional offer along with your cold drinks? Yes No Maybe 10. Gender? Gender? Male Female. BIBLIOGRAPHY http://resources. bnet. com/index. php? http://www. agriculture-industry-india. com/agricultural-commodities/soft-drinks. html http://www. foodindustryindia. com http://www. euromonitor. com http://www. icmrindia. org.

The Jungle Inspiring Change in the Workplace - 1079 Words

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